Kenny Dalglish took to the stage at the ECHO Sports Personality Awards on Monday night and reminded everyone what qualities Liverpool Football Club has been so sorely lacking in recent months.
Class, humility and dignity used to be watchwords at Anfield at a time when dirty linen being washed in public was as rare an occurrence as a season without a trophy.
Far too often during the all too difficult last 12 months the qualities which made the Liverpool Way the route all other clubs in English football looked to follow have been cast aside as personal agendas and vendettas have been put before the good of the club.
And because of that, when Dalglish addressed the Echo Arena his adherence to the old Liverpool way of doing things highlighted just how badly the club has been getting things wrong since it was taken over a year ago.
There were even those in the audience who spoke of a desire to see Dalglish back at the club he still loves so he can help restore the values which have been conspicuous only by their absence of late.
That would be a tall order, of course. Dalglish’s status among Liverpool’s fans means there is a risk that his mere presence could overshadow the manager if he was given some sort of role at Anfield.
Such a situation has occurred at Barcelona, where Johann Cruyff looms large over each and every coach who takes charge of first team affairs at the Nou Camp, even though Cruyff is only an adviser to club president Joan Laporta.
The “ghost on the wall” situation is nothing new, either, as a succession of Manchester United managers who wilted in the presence of the late Matt Busby can testify.
Liverpool managed to avoid such problems when they stopped Bill Shankly from turning up at Melwood after the legendary Scot was succeeded by Bob Paisley, and although it was harsh on Shankly, it was undoubtedly for the good of the club.
Having legends hanging around isn’t always good for a club but with Liverpool currently being in so desperate need of the qualities Dalglish has in abundance maybe the time is right to get him back on board in some capacity.
Although, judging by the way he responded to being offered the manager’s job more than 20 years ago, it might not be all that easy to convince him.
Speaking at the awards ceremony, he said: “I got a phone call from Peter Robinson asking could he come up to the house to see me with John Smith.
“The club had only just given me a four-year contract so I didn’t really know what they wanted to see me about.
“Then Peter said they wanted to talk to me about the manager’s job and I said ‘well, don’t worry about that, you can still come anyway’.”
Liverpool has had no finer servant than Kenny Dalglish and if a role was created for him it could only be good news for the club and its fans.
Class, humility and dignity used to be watchwords at Anfield at a time when dirty linen being washed in public was as rare an occurrence as a season without a trophy.
Far too often during the all too difficult last 12 months the qualities which made the Liverpool Way the route all other clubs in English football looked to follow have been cast aside as personal agendas and vendettas have been put before the good of the club.
And because of that, when Dalglish addressed the Echo Arena his adherence to the old Liverpool way of doing things highlighted just how badly the club has been getting things wrong since it was taken over a year ago.
There were even those in the audience who spoke of a desire to see Dalglish back at the club he still loves so he can help restore the values which have been conspicuous only by their absence of late.
That would be a tall order, of course. Dalglish’s status among Liverpool’s fans means there is a risk that his mere presence could overshadow the manager if he was given some sort of role at Anfield.
Such a situation has occurred at Barcelona, where Johann Cruyff looms large over each and every coach who takes charge of first team affairs at the Nou Camp, even though Cruyff is only an adviser to club president Joan Laporta.
The “ghost on the wall” situation is nothing new, either, as a succession of Manchester United managers who wilted in the presence of the late Matt Busby can testify.
Liverpool managed to avoid such problems when they stopped Bill Shankly from turning up at Melwood after the legendary Scot was succeeded by Bob Paisley, and although it was harsh on Shankly, it was undoubtedly for the good of the club.
Having legends hanging around isn’t always good for a club but with Liverpool currently being in so desperate need of the qualities Dalglish has in abundance maybe the time is right to get him back on board in some capacity.
Although, judging by the way he responded to being offered the manager’s job more than 20 years ago, it might not be all that easy to convince him.
Speaking at the awards ceremony, he said: “I got a phone call from Peter Robinson asking could he come up to the house to see me with John Smith.
“The club had only just given me a four-year contract so I didn’t really know what they wanted to see me about.
“Then Peter said they wanted to talk to me about the manager’s job and I said ‘well, don’t worry about that, you can still come anyway’.”
Liverpool has had no finer servant than Kenny Dalglish and if a role was created for him it could only be good news for the club and its fans.
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